In response to a recent traffic accident in Zhangzhou where a middle school student riding a "fixed-gear" bicycle collided with a car and tragically died, the Provincial Department of Education yesterday issued a special notice requiring all local primary and secondary schools to strengthen traffic safety education and management for students, and strictly prohibit them from riding fixed-gear bicycles and other brakeless bicycles to and from school.

　　The notice requires that all local schools immediately carry out an investigation into students riding fixed-gear and other brakeless bicycles, with particular emphasis on educating, advising, and informing parents of students who ride such bicycles, in order to jointly prohibit the use of fixed-gear and other brakeless bicycles and other vehicles by students.

　　All primary and secondary schools should set up prominent traffic safety warning signs at school entrances, and utilize the "five minutes every day" safety education time during the last class before dismissal in the morning and afternoon. They should regularly promote the dangers and hazards of riding unsafe vehicles through campus networks, electronic displays, broadcasts, televisions, bulletin boards, posters, banners, and other means, repeatedly warning students not to ride or purchase fixed-gear bicycles and other brakeless vehicles.

　　The notice also calls for further strengthening the connection between schools and families. Through various forms such as "A Letter to Parents," parent-teacher meetings, home visits by teachers, school messaging systems, text messages, and green safety messengers, traffic safety tips should be distributed to every parent, informing them not to purchase or allow their children to ride fixed-gear bicycles and other vehicles to and from school.

　　An investigation found that many middle school students in Fuzhou also ride these brakeless bicycles. Experienced riders say that without proper training, riding a fixed-gear bicycle can be risky. At the time, many schools in Rongcheng had noted the presence of fixed-gear bikes but had not explicitly banned them.


　　Fixed-gear bicycles are similar to track bicycles. The term "fixed-gear" literally means the freewheel is fixed. On a regular bicycle, the freewheel is free-moving, so when you pedal, the wheel turns, but when the wheel turns, you don’t necessarily have to pedal. However, with a fixed freewheel, the chain is fixed to the rear wheel, meaning the wheel must turn the chain, and the rider must keep pedaling—except when braking. Precisely because the freewheel is fixed, the rider can control the rear wheel through pedaling to slow down and brake, as well as maintain good control of the bike.